A guide to the flammability of common garden plants in Hobart, Kingborough, Clarence and Glenorchy has been developed to encourage people to create more bushfire resilient homes.
The guide is a joint project between the four Greater Hobart councils as partners of the Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action Bushfire Resilience Project and researchers at the University of Tasmania's FireLab.
Copies are available at the City of Hobart Customer Service Centre and a digital version is also available on the Sparking Conversations website.
The UTAS Fire Centre will continue to analyse the flammability of common garden plants, adding to its database of low-flammability garden plant varieties.
The Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action project, a two-year pilot program across the four Greater Hobart local government areas - Hobart, Glenorchy, Kingborough and Clarence has been funded through the National Emergency Agency's Preparing Australian Communities Grants Program.
This collaborative research project was supported by local residents who provided plant samples for flammability testing.
Quotes to be attributed to Hobart Lord Mayor Councillor Anna Reynolds:
"Many people who live in bushfire prone areas recognise the benefits of preparing their property for bushfire, but they say that they need more help and advice.
"This practical guide will assist people to make informed decisions about the types of trees, plants and shrubs they plant in their garden and around the house.
"I hope the community find it helpful. This is another great collaborative project the Council is running with the UTAS Fire Centre to build more resilience into our bushfire prone city."
Quotes attributable to Professor David Bowman:
"Plant flammability significantly impacts fire risk assessments and influences how fires behave in both natural and urban environments.
"However, up until now there have been considerable gaps in our understanding of how trees and plants commonly found in our gardens will burn during a bushfire.
"We have now tested hundreds of popular garden plant and tree varieties under controlled conditions in our fire laboratory at the University of Tasmania to come up with garden plant flammability ratings, available for free to the public.
"Our FireLab researchers analysed the flammability of common native and introduced plants in Greater Hobart as part of this research.
"Each plant sample was tested under controlled conditions and evaluated based on ease of ignition, burn temperature, duration and completeness.
"These factors were critical to determining the overall flammability of each plant."
